Susan Elizabeth "Sue" Perkins (born 22 September 1969) is an English comedienne, broadcaster, actress and writer, born in East Dulwich, London, England. Originally coming to prominence through her comedy partnership with Mel Giedroyc in Mel and Sue, she has since become best known as a radio broadcaster and TV presenter, notably of The Great British Bake Off.[1]

After a few years writing for French & Saunders (and occasionally appearing on their BBC series), they co-hosted a lunchtime show on Channel 4 entitled Light Lunch, and an early evening version, Late Lunch, which ran from March 1997 to February 1998.

Since 12 January 2015, Giedroyc and Perkins have hosted a daytime chat show on ITV called Mel and Sue.[11][12]

In April 2007, she participated in television series, Edwardian Supersize Me for the BBC. She was joined by food critic Giles Coren. The series focused on spending a week eating the equivalent of a wealthy Edwardian couple's food, whilst wearing period clothing.

Following the series, Perkins and Coren were commissioned to present a new series called, The Supersizers Go.... The premise of "Edwardian Supersize Me" was replicated and focused on other periods throughout history.

In the first episode, they survived for a week on Second World War rations. It was re-commissioned for a second episode, Perkins and Coren covered the English Restoration period. The third episode covered the Victorian period, the fourth the 1970s, the fifth the Elizabethan period and the sixth the Regency period.

In August and September 2008, Perkins appeared in the reality television series Maestro on BBC Two. During the series, a group of eight celebrities attempted (until eliminated) to learn to conduct orchestral, choral and operatic music.[16] During the series, Perkins conducted three pieces, two of them with soprano soloist Lesley Garrett.[17] Perkins won the series.[18]

Perkins appeared in a second 'Supersizers' series called The Supersizers Eat... with Giles Coren which aired on BBC Two in June and July 2009.[19] In September and October 2009 she hosted the Channel 4]] panel game The Big Food Fight.

She then gave a televised lecture for the Royal Television Society. Entitled "Wit's End? British Comedy at the Crossroads", the lecture focused on the state of British comedy. The presentation was broadcast on BBC Two.[20]

In March 2010, Perkins appeared in a three part mini-series on BBC Two, A Band for Britain, in which she attempted to revive the fortunes of the Dinnington Colliery Band.[21][22]

In 2010, Perkins and Coren presented Giles and Sue Live the Good Life, a celebration of the 1970s BBC series The Good Life, where they were challenged to live a self-sufficient lifestyle.[23]

Later that year, Perkins was joined by Mel Giedroyc to present The Great British Bake Off.[24] The series is a cookery competition with each episode looking at a different aspect of baking. It has been repeatedly re-commissioned and is now enjoying its fifth season.

Perkins narrated the 2011 game show Don't Scare the Hare. In October 2011, she presented a series on BBC Two called All Roads Lead Home. It featured Perkins learning how to use nature as a navigation tool. She was joined on the series by Alison Steadman and Stephen Mangan.[25]

On 30 December 2011, she presented and performed Mrs Dickens' Family Christmas, a sixty-minute documentary for BBC Two, which examined the marriage of Charles Dickens through the eyes of his wife, Catherine.

In 2011, Perkins featured in BBC travel adventure show World's Most Dangerous Roads: Alaska. She and Charley Boorman, her companion for the trip, drove the Dalton Highway.[27] She then appeared with Liza Tarbuck in Series 2 Episode 2 of World's Most Dangerous Roads: Ho Chi Minh Trail, shown in 2012, driving in Vietnam and Laos.[28] In November 2014 she returned to South-East Asia, travelling from the Mekong delta up to Tibet in The Mekong River with Sue Perkins, produced by Indus Films for the BBC.

On 26 February 2013, the first episode of Perkins' self-penned sitcom, Heading Out was broadcast.[29] Produced by Red Production Company and Square Peg TV, Perkins also portrayed the show's lead, Sara.[30]

Perkins is a panel member on Radio 4's The News Quiz and has made regular appearances on BBC Radio 2's It's Been a Bad Week. She is also a frequent panelist on another popular Radio 4 show, Just a Minute: in the 2012 television version, she appeared in four out of the 10 episodes (more than any other panellist except Paul Merton who appeared in all 10) and won on all four occasions.[37]

Perkins also chairs the Radio 4 panel game Dilemma, in which four humorous guests discussed moral conundrums she provided for them. The first series ran for six episodes on Sunday evenings from 13 November to 18 December 2011. Another series of this programme has run in February 2013.